A ‘Blueprint’ for British Dominance of Global Ceramics Production in the 1800s.
Tadgh Byrne
Introduction
“The capacity of objects to mean something beyond their ostensible ‘useful function and to tell us about the lives and status of their first owners has long been recognised” (Coutts, 2001 p11).
Tableware can give us insights into the past. As with cuisines or recipe books, they can showcase the values, trends and economic activity of an era and can be used to interpret some gain understanding of different cultures. In Das Capital, Karl Marx (1930) speaks of ‘commodity fetishism’ of the capitalist society, whereby a disconnect is formed between an object’s ‘use’ value and ‘exchange’ value. This thesis was progressed by economist Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) who coined the terms ‘leisure class’ and ‘conspicuous consumption’ (Coutts, 2001.13). These ideas are intrinsically linked to the advancement of formal dining habits throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth century, in Europe. Here, foods, drinks and specialised utensils took on roles that went far beyond their intrinsic value. The history of European ceramics can be to seen to be a history of style. Central to this idea is the concept of ‘taste’ – an appreciation of form and style held by the wealthy – an ability to spot the ‘exchange value’ behind merge objects. This paper will focus on the role of the humble dinner plate in England from the prehistoric period to the end of the Victorian Era, with a particular focus on its role the civilising process and the events leading to the mass commoditising of English ceramic wares.
Early England
Sibbeson (2013) tells us that the earliest pieces of pottery found in Britain date back to 4000BC. These ‘carinated’ bowls (more like a vase than the bowl of today) were brought from Europe and most likely used for water (O’Toole, 2011). The Romans brought the potter’s wheel to England 4000 years later, which increased production efficiency. Pottery was common throughout in Rome, as we know from volcanic sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Jugs, plates, spoons and knives, mainly of simple design, have been found in ancient ruins of thermopolia: ‘cook shops’ or early Roman restaurants (Mayfair, 2018). Silver was also been found. The Met Museum (2011) states that “large serving trays and dishes, and individual bowls and plates, as well as spoons, which were the primary eating utensil used by the Romans”. Some where highly decorated, it is ascertain if these were used to serve food or were served purely for display in dining rooms of the wealthy (Dunbabin, K. 2003 p161).
The idea of the individual dinner plate would not take hold in England until centuries later. Until the 1600s when the use of forks began to become more widespread, food was eaten with fingers. During the middle ages, the closest thing to a plate that existed in England was a trencher – “a thick slice stale bread that served as an edible or disposable plate” (Adamson, 2004 p158).
Trenchers
A trencher served to temporarily hold food taken from a communal bowl and prevent gravy from soiling the tablecloth (Scully, 171). Wooden trenchers might have been used, though less commonly than bread. Some of the more elaborate trenchers had a small indentation for a salt cellar (Breverton, 2015 p57). Later, trenchers were made of earthenware, wood, or metal, but Breverton, (2015 p56) tells us that well into the sixteenth century, they were still made of stale bread. In the Middle Ages, a menu might have consisted of two main courses and maybe dessert for special guests (Black, p115). The table setting was made up of a napkin, a spoon, and a trencher (Adamson, 2004 p158). There was a servant, the ‘ewerer’ in charge of hand washing and providing clean linen. They were also in charge of setting the table and preparing the dining room (Henisch p162). Guests sat in ‘messes’ of two and six people, so sharing was an important aspect of medieval dining. Such was the significance of bread in those days, that the word ‘companion’ originally meant ‘the person one shared bread with’ (Oxford English Dictionary, 2018).
During a particularly elaborate meal, those of high status were given several trenchers by the carver. These were cut in the popular square shape, seen in many medieval illustrations (Scully, 171). Those of lesser importance were expected to carve their own trencher from the nearest loaf (Breverton, 2015 p56). During medieval meals, tables were expected to be tidy and clean. A “voider” was used to clean food fragments, such as the trencher crusts (Hammond 112-16). Adamson (2004 p. 169) notes that for poor people, a very coarse, por quality flour was used for trencher bread , which would be left to sit and harden for several days before being cut. The quality of bread improved under the Tudors (1485 -1603) but was still rarely eaten because it was so stale and hard to digest (Breverton, 2015 p56). At the end of the meal, clean trenchers were brought out when cheeses and other expensive foods would be brought in (Breverton, 2015 p57). After dessert, the tables were cleared.. Every wealthy household in the Middle Ages would have had an ‘almoner’, leftover food was collected by them in an alms dish and given to the poor to eat (Adamson, 2004 p. 167). Sometimes bread trenchers would be fed to dogs (Breverton, 2015 p56). They would have been a similar size and shape, sometimes with a hollow centre to contain the meat and/ or gravy. A small hollow in the corner was for salt. The poor, however, made do with deep wooden bowls, or cups, to contain their food – often soups or stews (Henisch p161).
Pewter
In the middle ages, those in England who could afford to, used plates of pewter. The earliest reference to this metal alloy appears in the corporation of London’s record book of 1348 (The Worshipful Company of Pewterers, 2018). Pewter was originally made from tin, copper and lead. The lead would often leach out, causing poisoning. This was especially common when it came in contact with acidic foods – hence the long-held belief that tomatoes were poisonous. The wealthy had tableware made from pewter, silver, or earthenware. Pewter and silver were likely reserved for a special occasion, and wooden trenchers and bowls were for regular meals. Higher up the social ladder, it would have been pewter for daily use and silver for special occasions (Hilderyard, 1999, 33).
The concept of dinner service, consisting of different but matching items of tableware was prevalent in England from Medieval times onwards. In wealthy households, the emphasis of a meal was craftsmanship and display; beyond the ‘use’ of food as means to nourish, to ‘use’ as show ones status, as Hilderyard (1999, 33) explains, the intention was to dazzle the senses of the guest and showcase the host’s wealth and sense of hospitality. Similarly, in some circles, pottery became an item of high fashion, but for most, it held a purely utilitarian function. Simple low-fired earthenware ceramics continued to be made for eating and drinking and were used by the working class, but also wooden trenchers. These ceramics were probably the standard for most as we know from archaeological excavations. In 1567, two earthenware factories were built in London and Norwich, to produce white plates. (Hilderyard, 1999). English pottery ceramics of were not valuable enough to be exported but as we will see, they would come to be. However, in Europe, the durable stoneware of Germany, stuck a perfect balance between Renaissance zeitgeist and utilitarian function – as Hilderyard, (1999 p47) captures, it “combined utility with decorative influences from printed designs”.
Meanwhile in London, The monopoly on the production of pewter belonged to London-based ‘Worshipful Company of Pewterers’, for two centuries. Though still in existence, the weakening of the company’s influence gives us key insights as to what was happening internationally:
From 1474… pewter was unrivalled as a material for plates, dishes, drinking vessels and similar ware. The prosperity of the trade may be said to have reached its zenith in the late 17th century. Thereafter, partly because society’s drinking habits changed following the introduction of tea to this country and partly because the industrial revolution introduced new techniques and the use of alternative materials, the trade steadily declined (The Worshipful Company of Pewterers, 2018).
Over time, plate design became more elaborate. ‘The Potteries’ of Staffordshire, transitioned from pottery to pewter and other metals. As techniques progressed, plates were made from finer porcelain and China.
Porcelain in Europe
Luxury goods such as silk and spices were brought to Persia and Turkey from the Far East via the Silk Road. The long journey and the mystique surrounding their origins greatly added to their value. One of the exotic commodities traded was ‘white gold’, otherwise known as ‘porcelain’, from the
The Harlequian Household Regulations, dating from the fifteenth century, show that in England a dinner was normally two courses, which were made up of numerous dishes. These were supplemented by ‘potages’ (soups). Hilderyard (1999, 33) expands on this:
The diners are of slabs of bread and shared a central dish of food four, or ‘mess’; this was shared between two in the case of more elevated people and of course one for the Lord himself. The tradition of displaying silver and gold plate on another table, where the wines would be poured was the origin of the French buffet (sideboard) of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and continued well into the nineteenth century.
Civilising Process’ was well underway in the newly formed Great Britain. Politeness at the dinner table was slowly becoming a means of showing one’s cultural capital. Knives became smaller and blunter, spoons continued to be used but there was a new arrival on the scene; the fork. As the use of the fork grew, so to did the need for ‘china’ (porcelain) dinner plates which were flatter and shallower than dishes and trenchers that had been used (Wilson 2012).
When bowls were used for all meals, the ideal implement was a spoon.. A knife and fork with horizontal handles do not work as well with a trencher or a bowl – they need a flat surface. As Wilson (2012) states “table manners which reached their apogee in Victorian times’.
The secret formula was not discovered until 1708 when a German chemist called Johann Friedrich Bottger accidentally discovered how to make white gold. A factory was opened in Meissen in 1710, which became one of the powerhouses of ceramic production in Europe along with Delft in The Netherlands (Hilderyard,1999). In Britain, Dwight’s experiments were not followed up on for another 50 years.
The Restoration period was also marked by the creation of the Honourable East India Company. Mintz (1985 pp112-113) tell us it was first chartered to explore the Indies and to compete for trade 1660. The company’s monopoly was key in the rise of popularity in tea drinking in England. As Coutts (2001, p70) points out, this created an enormous demand for Chinese porcelain tea wares, favoured for their ability to withstand heat and everyday wear and tear. This could be brought back with the tea itself, so the supply was there to match the demand and Chinese porcelain of all grades was sold all over England.
Later, Meissen porcelain was also imported. but mostly figures. Staffordshire factories were producing salt-glaze, pewter and delftware, which was used by the poorer households. Similar factories opened all over Britain and English earthenware was admired for its practicality and low cost. However, the keenness of British producers to be taken seriously as artists was a dominant theme in the early 1800s (Hilderyard, R. 1999 p92).
Britain comes into its own
The British pottery industry was centred around the area of Staffordshire (and still is), due to the suitable local clays, a supply of coal and adequate skilled labour. Ceramic production has occurred here since Medieval times. Six towns, ‘The Potteries’ eventually all merged into what is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent (Coutts, 2001).
In 1772, a man named Thomas Turner took over and expanded his step-father’s earthenware factory ‘The Salopian China Warehouse’. The ceramic patterns produced were principally confined to blue flowers on a white ground which was popular at the time. He brought back several skilled workmen from a trip investigating methods used in porcelain making in Paris and soon after introduced famous ‘Willow Pattern,’ to England. (Carlyle, 2018)
A major advancement for the region came when Josiah Spode developed a new strengthened pottery called Bone China. The success of bone China was quick, a large number of copies soon emerged Staffordshire, such as John Davenport and Thomas Minton, who each had factories named after them. Wedgwood also began using it. Other variants: ‘Stone China’ and ‘Ironstone China’ followed.
By this time, Britain was quickly becoming a powerful and dominating world power. Exports doubled in value, and agricultural and industrial production rose by 60 per cent. Much of this wealth went to the aristocracy but it also trickled down the social scale, empowering the professional and merchant classes. The middle classes aspired to the tastes of the wealthy and the working class people copied them (Hannah, 1986).
The East India company could no longer compete with the domestic sales of porcelain. This was also the age of “economic expansion and worldwide dominance” (Coutts, 2001 p213) of the ceramic industry in Staffordshire. It was time for England to be the one exporting its tableware.
It was in these potteries, however, that the process of industrialisation began. Techniques, working and practices were established and the manner in which some of the factories were organised soon spread throughout the industry (Hannah, 1986). The advantages of the factory system lay in its division of labour. This method of production had been used in the textile industry as early as 170. To increase profits, the firms had to increase production and expand their market. This led to experimentation with steam power (Hannah, 1986).
In the 1890s, an important change in dining at this time was a move away from
The celebrated age of nineteenth-century design had dawned and the scene was set for England to produce plates and other ceramics that would adorn dining tables the world over.
A Post Plate Society
Some might have envisaged 1904 as the beginning of the end of the era of the plate. This was the year that
In a mad twist of irony, the evolution of the plate came full circle in recent years with the appearance of chopping boards and slates in restaurants around the world. This phenomenon has been exemplified by the website-turned-book
Conclusion
Material culture gives us fascinating insights into the past. Told through the lens of Food Studies we can gain even further insights into how things came to be the way they are. Here we have seen how the civilising process gave rise to the use of forks which in turn gave us the need plates. We have seen how the English colonial ambitions brought tea in Europe which increased the demand for porcelain.
The exoticism and mystique surrounding Far East Asia something that endured until very recently, and still does in many ways. The fascination of the upper classes with eastern foods, drinks and material goods trickled down to a point where every household had some element of Chinoiserie. The ubiquitous Willow Pattern is a good example of this.
Some of the factors leading Britain becoming a world centre of economic trade in the 1800 and 1900 have been outlined. As have the foundations for the lavishness, the “conspicuous consumption” that would become associated with the Victorian era.
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Tadgh Byrne 